Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas

Christmas is a magical time of year, but sometimes people take it a little too far. A lot of people believe that in order to have a "good" Christmas, they need to have the biggest and best of everything. It's not true, but Christmas has become so commercialized that it has almost become the first thing people think of when they think about Christmas.

Whether or not you believe in the story behind the celebration of Christmas, it should probably be more than buying the biggest and the best things. It's being happy with what you have, and showing appreciation towards the great people that you have been blessed with.

We all have a different idea of what the holiday season means to us. For some it means being surrounded by the great people in your life, while others see it as a long awaited break from work or school. Whatever Christmastime means to you, don't turn it into a frenzy of outdoing everyone in gifts and decorations.

Christmas comes at the perfect time in the year to reflect on all that has happened over the past year. Think about the ups and downs, and reflect on what that has done to change you. If you like the change, keep moving in that direction, if you don't like where you're at, then change it.

Life is more than focusing on the little things like if your outfit is perfect, or if you can feel better than your neighbors. It' about making the most out of what you have been given. Take this special time of year to think about your life for what it is.

The good and the bad both have a purpose in life. One of my favorite movies shows that everyone has a purpose, and can have a great impact on those around them. It's A Wonderful Life shares the story of George Bailey with viewers. We see the ups and downs of the life that George believed was a  total failure.

Even if 2015 wasn't perfect, life can still get better. It may not get better right when you want it to, but life has it's ups and downs, and that's just the way it is. Sometimes people have to go backwards a little bit in order to go more forward. Take a moment to think about your life, and where you want to be by this time next year.

Merry Christmas!

Short Girl Appreciation

Short girls are often overlooked. It's not that people don't care, but when someone literally disappears in a crowd, it's hard not to be overlooked.

Since it happens so often, short girls need a day to actually get some recognition. December 21st has been called short girl appreciation day, because it is the shortest day of the year. At least that's what the internet says, and if you are a college kid like me, you basically trust what the internet says with your life.

Short girls love to have fun, and celebrate, why not celebrate with a short girl?

Short girls are pretty easy going. They like movies and music, so if you want to celebrate with  a short girl, just get a movie that shows a strong short girl ( Pitch perfect 2 is a good one, and since it's December Elf is also a good display of the size gap), and pop some popcorn. If you do that, you should be good.

If you don't want to party, that's okay. Just makes sure to remember the short girls in your life. Even if you only see one or two throughout the day, let them know that you notice them. Sometimes being vertically impaired can make a person feel forgotten, especially if they are in a crowd. Make sure to let them know that you care, and appreciate them in your life.

#shortstories  #shortgirlappreciation  #shortgirls

Short People Should Really Stay In Front

I talked about the front row syndrome earlier, but that was from the perspective of someone who had never made it to the back row before. Now I have been in the back row, and I can say with a surety that short people really do belong on the front row.

As a short person I used to wonder how it felt to be on the back row of anything. Choir concerts, family pictures, I even wondered how people sit in the back row of a theater. It seemed so foreign intriguing my whole life, so when I actually ended up on the back row, I was slightly thrilled. The excited feeling soon wore off, after I realized that I was now literally behind a mountain of people.

When we first went over standing positions, I was on the second row, and everything was fine. We had gone through the entire program for dress rehearsal, but for some reason there were more than one or two people missing. All through dress rehearsal people were saying that there were a few people missing, but when we all got on stage, it was apparent that there were more than a few missing people.

As we all shuffled to our places I and the girl next to me noticed that people stopped moving, and we were not in the places that we were in during dress rehearsal. That's where things went a little awry. I'm sure the audience got a good chuckle out of the confused looks that we shared as we tried to figure out where to go. There were two empty spaces on the back row, so that's where we went.

The further back we went, the less we could see the conductor. The man next to me was at least a foot taller than me, and everyone around the girl and I literally made us disappear. We had to carefully angle ourselves, just to attempt to follow the conductor. The whole time I wished that the people in front of me would somehow adjust their height to fit the short people behind them.

After the concert, the conductor had us stay in position, so he could get a group picture. I would almost be willing to bet money that there is no trace of the girl next to me and myself. The concert went over well, but maybe next time, if people don't come to dress rehearsal, we should keep them out of the concert.
#theshortstories #choirconcerts #shortgirlprobs #frontrowsyndrome 

For Me It's My Job, But You Think It's Way Cooler Than It Really Is

So I work at a radio station, and for me it's just a job. I'm not saying that it's not fun, but I don't really think too much of it. I have a show on the light rock station every Monday- Friday from 7-10 pm, but for me it's just a part of my job. When I started in radio, it was really cool, but now it's what I do every day, so even though it's still fun, I don't really think about it as being a "cool job."

My station's target demographic is people between the ages of 35 and 54, and when you go to the gym at 7:00 in the morning, that's exactly who you run in to. People don't scare me, so I'm not afraid to talk to them, even if they are a lot older than I am. We exchange the usual things like names, and sometimes workplace comes into play, and as soon as I mention I work at a radio station, everyone thinks it's the coolest thing that they have ever heard.

I have signed autographs for kids that take my tour of the station, but luckily I haven't had an adult insist upon it. I don't see myself as a big star or anything like that. I have a job, and I do what is in my job description. I love what I do, but to me it's not a big deal, because I do it every day.

For those of you who don't know being on the radio is a blast, but the actual studio isn't that cool. It's just a room with a microphone that connects to a switch board that controls what goes on the radio essentially. There's a little more to it with programming, but that's essentially it.

If you want to hear my show, you are more than welcome to. It can be streamed live at star98online.com every Monday- Friday 7:00-10:00pm Mountain Time. It's a fun job, but just because I am on the air, it doesn't make me a star. I'm just a regular person that just happens to have a job at a radio station.

#ShortStories #Star #NotAsCoolAsYouMakeItOutToBe #MyJobIsFun #CherryCreekRadio

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Why is everything bigger than me?

Plants are amazing things. They can grow and grow with little care in the wild unless somebody cuts them down. Southern Utah is pretty rural, so you might wonder if anyone actually lives here with the tall vegetation that grows freely pretty much any place that it can. Weeds will grow as tall as you will let them grow, so for a short person it can be a little daunting to try to take on the plants that tower over you like trees.

When the weather gets warm enough, you might feel more inclined to go outside for a run. For most people it's not a big deal, but for a short person a little more planning has to go into it. It's a great way to get in shape, but if you are short there are a few things that you should be aware of:

1. If you run on a trail that grows wild, the plants will be taller than you guaranteed. It's not so bad until you feel like you walked into a corn maze, and can't find your way out.
2. Running a mile for you is different than running a mile for a normal sized person. Although the actual distance traveled is the same, the amount of strides and time is different. Short people often have shorter legs, so you may be running the same distance, but it will probably feel like you have done more.
3. People might not see you, or even wonder what parent decided to leave their child alone on the trail. Just watch out for other runners, and you should be fine. If you decide to run in the dark the chance for someone to run into you increases, because they really won't see you especially if you don't have loud foot steps.

When running outside avoid running by rivers, because they are probably deeper than you can actually stand. You are more than welcome to try it, but don't say I didn't warn you when you find yourself caught in the current.

#TheShortStories #EverythingIsTallerThanMe #struggleisreal

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It's A Small World

Not to be cliche, but as a small person the world is a lot bigger. I recently learned that the world really is a small place. I recently got a job at a hotel working the breakfast shift, and I have been able to meet people from all over the world.

I met a couple from Ireland that regularly visit the United States, because they love all of the places to explore, especially in the National Parks. They mentioned that they have visited Southern Utah multiple times, because they enjoy the beautiful scenery.

For me traveling all the way to Ireland seems like an impossible task, because it's so far away, but if they can travel here once a year just to see some mountains, and canyons, then the world might not be such a big place.

#Itreallyisasmallworld #Theshortstories #Adventures

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Is It Just Me, or Do People Trust Short People A lot More Than Taller People?

Think about it, have you ever seen a short person, and thought they were the most dishonest person ever? You may not have decided to divulge any information to them, but you probably didn't think they were total scum. Most people have a general trusting respect for people, and try not to think ill of them at first sight, but sometimes it seems like short people are a little more trust able.

I started an internship back in January, and everyone has been really open with me, but sometimes it surprised me how much they trusted me. When I started I didn't have a car, so I had to rely on my roommate's fiance to get be back and forth. He worked at another place in town, so I was pretty much stranded there.

After just a few weeks working there I they needed me to pick up something on the other side of town, and in order to help me out, my supervisor gave me the keys to his giant truck. This was only a few weeks after I started. Most people have to know another person pretty well before they decide to trust them with their car.

My supervisor let me drive his car semi regularly, and every time I drove it I thought my boss must have been insane to let the intern he had just recently taken on, drive his car. His only question was if I had a license. For all he knew I could have been the worlds worst driver, and that was the reason behind me not actually having a car. It's not, but he didn't know that.

He's not the only one to trust me with a car, so it's got to be more than him being nice. My site coordinator let me drive her brand new car to talk to a client. She had only known me for a couple of months. I asked if she could drive me over, because I wouldn't have made it in time if I had biked over, but instead she gave me the keys, and let me drive over.

Maybe it's just me, but that seems like a lot of trust to put in someone that you don't know that well. I don't know if being short is the reason behind it, but whatever it was, I am glad that it worked.
#ShortStories #TrustingShortPeople
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Little Intern With Some Big Shoes To Fill

When people think of internships, they think of some actual work experience, with a side of random errands that nobody else in the office wants to do. I lucked out with my internship, and it is all work experience, and then some.

My first day one of the On-Air personalities thought it would be fun to let me come on the radio with him. I thought that would probably be the only time I would get on air, because my internship has a marketing and sales focus, but one of the managers thought they would give me a shot on their soft rock station. It was just a shot in the dark, and I didn't think anything would actually come of it, but now I have been given a little time on air every weeknight.

I replaced a high end On-Air person by the name of John Tesh. Cherry Creek used to syndicate his show from New York, but they decided to go with a more local approach, and that local approach happens to be me.

For a little intern taking over a well respected show is a little intimidating. People specifically listened to him, and saw it worth the effort to barter with him and get him to syndicate his show from New York. People were familiar with him, and his show became a part of their lives.

If you didn't know people don't usually appreciate it when their radio program changes, especially people over 35, which is the intended demographic for the station. If I would have known how much people react to radio program changes, I would have been absolutely terrified. The station recently made some changes in their line up on their talk radio, and people have called in just to tell us that they didn't appreciate the changes.

I haven't heard what people said about me replacing John Tesh, and honestly I don't want to. Most of the callers are just upset about a change in their schedule, so it wouldn't even be constructive criticism. I would rather just take my chance to fill these big shoes, and do my best regardless of what listeners say about the change in their program.

As a college student, it's a pretty big deal to be given an opportunity like this. They let me do the show every single night, and trust me to make sure it actually is worthwhile to listeners. After having such a respected host, it's insane to think that they are willing to trust a college kid with such a big part of their station.

#MovingUpInTheWorld #CrazyTrustInMe #ShortStories
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A Small Person Playing in The Big Leagues

When people think of interns, they usually picture that eager college grad that is hoping to get to do all of the cool things at the job, but soon realizes that they were essentially brought it to do paperwork and get the coffee. That's what I expected a little bit when I applied for my internship, but Cherry Creek Radio doesn't believe in making interns do things that won't actually help them in their future career, so I get to do everything that the people that work there get to do.

I am at least 10 years younger than everyone that works there, so they could totally get away with leaving me with all of the grunt work, but they treat me as an equal. I can voice my ideas in promotions and sales meetings, and most of the time they are considered. They treat me as if I were a permanent member of the team, and for an intern that feels pretty good.

A few of the people that I work with for my internship, were a little surprised at my age, because they assumed I was older. I don't like the way that some college students behave, so I try my best not to act like that. College is an opportunity to better yourself, and I think the best way to use the opportunity is to act like you are ready to handle it. That's how I behave at Cherry Creek, and because I act like I am ready to handle a lot of responsibility, they are willing to give me a lot of things to be responsible for.

I have had to do some filing, but that's not all they have me do. I have seen what goes into scheduling, and how to set up the different time clocks at the station. They let me go to different meetings with them, and participate in the discussion. I get to be in charge of my own sales account for the company even though I am not an official employee. They let me have my own show every weeknight on one of their stations, and I don't think it's very common for interns to be able to do so many different things for the place for interning at.

I am the shortest and youngest there, so when I first started I was a little intimidated by all of these people that were well established in the industry. I have only been there for a week, but the way they treat me, makes it feel like I have been there forever. I absolutely love the internship that I was lucky enough to get. The people are absolutely amazing, and are helping me prepare for my future career far better than I ever dreamed of.

I am so glad that I have been given the opportunity to play in the big leagues so to speak. My supervisor believes that we have the opportunity to learn something new every day, and after working with him and everyone else at Cherry Creek, I believe it too. Internships are a really good way to get your foot in the door for your future career. It's a small step that makes a big difference, and I wouldn't change it for anything.

#ShortStories #SmallInternBigCompany #BestThingEver #InternLife
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Swing Sets and Short People Have a Complicated relationship

One of the joys of being short is that you never have to grow up. One of my favorite things that I used to do as a kid is playing on the swing set. I would get a little bit excited when I would get to play on a swing set with my 4-H mentee, One of the things I learned quickly, is that swinging is a little harder for adults.

The kid I served as a mentor to could jump out of the swing as many times as she wanted, and would be just fine, but I was not as agile. I felt the jump in my ankles and knees, and it wasn't as fun as it used to be. When you are an adult, jumping out of a swing is not a good idea.

Another problem is pushing someone "underdog" on a swing. I ran into one of my mentees recently, and they asked if we could play at the park. I saw no harm in taking them over to the park to play, so I went over with them. I was attempting to do an "underdog," but it wasn't as smooth as I thought it would be.

I have done "underdog" on a swing before, so I didn't think that it would be a problem at all, but I was very wrong. On older swing sets the ground is usually lower underneath the swing, because of all of the wear and tear, and that creates a problem for a short person.

I was going back to start to push my mentee, and ended up underneath the swing when I started to go forward. It all happened in an instant. I didn't even see it coming. One second I was just pushing them in the swing, and the next thing I knew I was being dragged under the swing.

Luckily I hadn't pushed the swing very hard, so I didn't really get hurt. I was covered in wood chips, and maybe had a couple of scratches overall, but nothing major. I didn't even think being pulled under the swing was possible. After that I payed a little more attention to the small pit in the ground that I had been pulled into as a result of my first attempt to do an "underdog."

I still love swinging, and that didn't deter me from pushing people the "underdog" way on a swing by any means, but from that I have embraced my age a little more. Don't get me wrong, I still plan on being the same person, but I plan to think a little more about my limits with my height. Life is all about the adventure, but even adventure has some limits.

#ShortStories #SwingSets #ItsComplicated #LoveThemAnyway
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A Bit of a Culture Shock

Everyone has their own way to celebrate New Year's, and this year I did something a little different. My friend's husband is Japanese, and he decided to show me how the Japanese celebrate New Year's. It turned out that they eat a lot of food with names that I can't pronounce. Most of them involve fish, and have a texture similar to rubber.

My friend was sweet knowing how white I am, and made kielbasas, and let me use chopsticks with what I like to call "training wheels." Last time I used chopsticks my friend spent almost the whole meal laughing at my vain attempt to use chopsticks.

I was the only one there with the "training wheels." Everyone else was familiar enough with Asian cuisine that they knew what to do with the chopsticks. My experience with Asian food is basically Panda Express. I made it through the whole night with my chopsticks, so I would call it a success.

The various foods I tried for New Year's.

Each of the foods had an importance in bringing in the New year. I don't usually associate a lot of symbolism with the foods that I eat, so it was a little different  when I was given rules of how to eat the New Year's feast. For instance there are beans that have to be eaten only in odd numbers, or you will not have luck for the new year, or that every room has to have mochi and an orange in it for good luck in the New Year.

My family doesn't even watch the ball drop for the New year, so it was a little different to participate in a New Year's celebration that had so much symbolism and meaning behind it. I like seeing how different cultures are. It may not be a huge difference, but learning the little things about different cultures will help to bring the world a little closer together.

#ShortStories #Learning #CultureShock #BringingTheWorldALittleCloser

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Short People: The Masters of Stealth

Being short can be a challenge when you are constantly disappearing behind tall people, but sometimes this can be pretty entertaining. When you disappear in a crowd, you usually scare people when you appear again. I scare people on a regular basis with out even trying.

Short people have quieter footsteps, because they are not very high off the ground. That makes them almost as sneaky as a ninja. When you are short and quiet, you can literally pop up anywhere, and you will at least startle the people who didn't realize you were there.

I have scared all of my roommates multiple times. The most common way is when I come home at night, and they don't see me, because it's dark, and I'm not very loud when I am coming home. They don't usually hear me come into a room, so when they turn around, and all of a sudden I am there, they usually are a bit surprised.

It happens enough that my roommate said that I should start wearing a bell, so she would at least have some sort of warning that I was there. I don't mean to startle people, but it can be pretty entertaining when they realize that I am there.

Sometimes I like to see just how long it takes people to realize that I am there. People have had full conversations around me, before finally realizing I was there. It happened all the time when I worked at a diner by my house. I don't like to just stand around when it's slow, so I usually found something to fill or clean, and it usually took awhile for them to find me, because I'm quiet and don't take up a ton of floor space.

If you want to have fun with this, you could intentionally scare people, by popping up in different places, but you don't have to go overboard, and do it everywhere you go, because then it becomes obnoxious. I don't intentionally do it, because when I am actually trying to sneak up on people, they usually see me coming.

There are some pretty good perks to being small and stealthy. People will generally think you are very polite, because you aren't overly loud. You won't get in the way too much, because of your lack of height. You can sneak in and out of parties, and events without people noticing that you left, which can be helpful if you need to step out and answer a call or have something that you need to leave for.

So next time you are wondering where your vertically impaired friend has disappeared, just remember that they are short, and they will show up, just maybe not at the moment you are expecting them to.

#ShortStories #MastersOfStealth #ShortPeople

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When Did Everyone Get So Big?!

Coming home for the holidays is one of the best things after moving away from home. You get to come home, and stay in your old room rent free, and get to eat mom's home cooked meals the whole time you are there. You also get to see relatives and old neighbors, and it seems like they have all grown up a ton since you last saw them.

I used to basically live at my neighbor's house when I was in high school. I was their dog walker and some of their younger children loved to come with me. After walking the dogs I would come back, and usually stayed there until it got dark. I was basically family. I was one of the very few friends that got to stay over when their cousins visited. They had a new baby in the house, and since he was too little to help with the chores, I got to watch him while his mom and older siblings did their chores.

I was there so much that their oldest son would get upset when I would have to leave, because he thought that I actually lived there.He used to block the doors, and cry when I would have to go home, and when my family went to visit them after they moved, he bolted down the stairs to make sure he met me at the front door.

When you aren't around somebody for awhile, it kind of surprises you when you see them again. That's what happens in life. If you are around a person all the time, you don't notice the gradual changes that happen, but when it is an extended amount of time, it is amazing to see just how much they have changed.

I went to a friend's wedding when I was home from college, and was in shock at how much her siblings had grown up. The kids that were once basically underfoot, now tower over me. I don't know how it happened, but it seems to happen every time I come home. I will look at the people in church when I am home, and have to ask my mom who some of the teenagers are, because they grew up so much, since I was last there.

The ones that surprise me most are the boys, because they get so tall. My brother has a friend that visits in the summer, and this last summer I had no idea who he was, When he and my brother first started hanging out they were both about 5''4'. My brother grew a couple of inches over the course of the year, but his friend grew and entire foot. I thought my brother had brought over somebody new because he had grown so much.

It's crazy how fast people change and grow in life. It's not a bad thing, but it's still catches me off guard. People change all the time, and in most cases change is a good thing.

#ShortStories #GrowthSpurts #WhenDidYouGetSoTall #ChangeIsAGoodThing
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